Fluorescent tube coating



Patented Jan. 2 1945 FLUORESCENT TUBE COATING Eugene Lemmers, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, as-

slgnor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York a No Drawing. Application September 2, 1941,

Serial No. 409,293

5 Claims.

- This invention relates to the coating of the walls of fluorescent devices with fluorescent materials or phosphors, and isespecially useful for coating the tubes or envelopes of fluorescent for burning out residual carbon of carbonaceous binder. This I accomplish not by doing away with hinder, or by employing a binder of noncarbonaceous character, but by radically modifylamps of the positive column electric discharg 5 ing the prior process as described above in essentype. Though suitable and advantageous for tial particulars. 1 In the first place, I alter the phosphors in general, the invention is particuusual binder by greatly reducing its solid nlarly adapted for phosphors that are liable to tent and the carbon residue that it aifords; and deterioration by heating in certain usual procin the second place, I alter the heat treatment of esses of coating-whether because of sensitivethe co ted tubes or envelopes so as merely to mess of the phosphors to air or other oxidizing carbonize the binder solids, W t a y attemp conditions when heated, or because of their mere to remove their residual carbon. This, I have susceptibility to the temperatures and duration found, can he e practicable by limiting he of heating that are commonly employed to get proportion of binder'solids and residual carbon rid of binders (or residues thereof) that are used in the ph suspension as applied t th in applying the phosphorsto the lamp envelope, fluorescent tube or envelope ,to an exceedingly tube, or bulb. low figure. v v

An example of a phosphor peculiarly liable to Other features and advantages of the invendeterioration by heat under oxidizing influence is tiOn Will p from he description of a SP6- 8. new phosphor consisting essentially of alkacies or form of embodiment and execution. line-earth-metal phosphate activated with ceriali a i ta phosp phosphors um which may b produced a describ d h such as above referred to are typified by calcium inafter, and which is characterized by predomphosphate activated with cerium as hereinafter inant fluorescence in the long-Wave ultraviolet described- This P p emits ong Wave ulwhen excited by short-wave ultraviolet radiation. traviolet and a little d p blue h excited y This phosphor is very undsueI i it b havi toshort wave ultraviolet radiation.- Discharge deward temperature and surrounding atmosphere. Vices lamps employing this phosp e Heating in air above about 250-300" C. for an p ia y s ful f r blu p i t n pu p s. a also appreciable length of time greatly reduces its in cases where dark light is used to render dibrightness or luminous output; and even at room als Or other objects luminous by fluorescence or temperature, the ozone from a small quartz lamp ph sp s en e W t t un t d vis ht. may in 20 minutes reduce the brightness f th The relatively low visible fluorescence of the phosphosphor by as much as 80 per cent. On the p r is of dv ta in s s a in it other hand, heating at 450 C. in a reducing ateasy filter t Visible l t to the point of mosphere (as of hydrogen) has no bad efiect on app o e or to a s pp ession e i h efthe phosphor, even after 20 minutes. ficiency f t e phosp or adapts it espec for An ordinary method of applyin phosphor to installations employing small units, where the the envelope walls of fiuoroscent lamps or the av il le power r volt g is low, and where the like involves suspending the phosphor in an orcompl tion f Voltage-raising O e ce ganic or carbonaceous binder, and coating the 40 sories is undesirable. i envelope internally with the phosphor suspen- Besides the cerium-activated phosphate of sion. The envelope is afterward heated in an calcium, cerium-activated phosphates of other oxidizing atmosphere of ordinary air, thus decognate metals of Group II can be prepared in composing the binder and oxidizing the residthe same way as erei ter descr bed Or the ual carbon. A small amount of carbon is leftv activation of calcium phosp d exhibit e in the phosphor after this treatment, and has erally similar fluorescence, although the chithe effect of improving the adherence of the ciency h s not pvove so gh, d er De phosphor. Quite obviously, this treatment is im centages of cerium have been required with these practicable for phosphors of the peculiarly susother p p te to Prod e t a u ceptible types above mentioned, because of the brightness: viz., about 15 P cent 0f cerium prolonged heating at injurious temperatures, culated as such, against about 8 per cent with I have discovered, however, that it is possible calcium phosphate. The other phosphates here to apply phosphors satisfactorily to fluorescent specially referred to are those of the other two tubes or envelopes, so as to produce fully servalkaline-earth-metals, strontium and barium; iceable adherent coatings, without any necessity and the procedures and statements of proportions herein given for calcium compounds also apply to the corresponding strontium and barium compounds, with due regard for the different atomic weights of the metals.

The phosphor of calcium phosphate activated with cerium may be prepared by firing together material comprising calcium phosphate and cerium. As a vehicle of cerium for thus activating the calcium phosphate may be used ceri um phosphate, cerium oxide, cerium nitrate, cerium sulphate, or various other cerium compounds-reagent grades of all the materials used being at present preferred. Ignoring other components of the cerium vehicle, variations in the proportion of cerium to phosphate ranging from 4 per cent to 15 per cent by weight has produced little change in the fluorescent brightness of the phosphor; and even throughout the more extended range of 1 per cent to 20 per cent of cerium, good results have been obtained. Proportions outside this extended range give reduced brightness of the phosphor. Experience has led to the choice of 7 per cent to 8 per cent as an optimum.

A preferred method of initially bringing calcium phosphate and cerium compound together is by precipitation from solution. This ,gives rise to a very intimate mixture, or even to a combination including both calcium and cerium in one compound-and also gives rise to advantages in the subsequent firing. For example, 400 grams of calcium nitrate and from to 150 grams of cerous nitrate may be dissolved together in 2 to 3 liters of nearly boiling-hot distilled water, and to this may be added a solution of from 210 to 250 grams of diammonium phosphate,

dissolved in about 2 liters of nearly boiling-hot distilled water. The excess of ammonium phosphate involved in these proportions does not change the quality of the precipitate, but does ive'a better yield. Solutions cooler than 80 C. offer the drawback that the resulting precipitate may be more difiicult to filter. The precipitate comprises essentially (as there is reason to believe) calcium phosphate, Ca3(PO4) 2, and cerous phosphate, CePO4, very intimately intermixedthough it may be that a double phosphate of calcium and cerium is formed. After thorough stirring of the mixed solutions to assure complete reaction, the precipitate may be collected on a suction filter and washed with 2 or 3 liters of hot water. After washing on the filter, the precipitate may be dried at a temperature of 100 C. to 200 C. The resulting dried powder may then be milled or ground in methanol in a ballmill for an hour, using about 150 grams of the powder to 250 cc. of pure methyl alcohol in a 1 quart ball-mill. After filtering and drying, the powder may be brushed through 200 mesh bolting cloth. It is then ready for firing.

Besides the duration of firing, the temperatime and the chemical, environmental, or atmospheric conditions influence the results and the fluorescent brightness of the product. Temperatures of the order of 950 C., or more, to 1100 C., or more, ive good results, wi h a pr ference for the upper part of this range, or even about 1200 C. to 1300 C. Temperatures as low as 900 C. give a product of inferior brightness. In general, 1200 C. to 1300 C. is at present preferred, and is to be taken as the temperature of firing in the examples of practical procedure given hereinafter.

To produce a phosphor of the greatest bright ness, it is advisable to fire under reducing conditions and under another influence such as indicated hereinafter. Firing under these diverse conditions may be combined in a single operation. The reducing influence maintains or results in a cerous condition of cerium in the phosphor, represented by a cerium compound in which the cerium is divalent rather than trivalent. The firing is conveniently carried out in an electrically heated silica, tube furnace into which the material is introduced in refractory boats, that can be pushed into or through the tube and withdrawn. The desired conditions may be obtained by introducing a supply of moist reducing gas, such as hydrogen, through a tube in a stopper at one end of the furnace tube, allowing the gas to flow through and burn at the other (open) end of the furnace tube. The boats should be withdrawn at the end of the furnace where the hydrogen is admitted. Very good and uniform results may be obtained by using fairly pure hydrogen that has been bubbled through warm water to moisten it well. However, the proportions of water vapor required with the reducing agent are not large, and can be provided in various ways: e. g., anything that will decompose or react to yield water under the heat used may be introduced with or into the hydrogen in the furnace. The time of firing depends on the temperature: .an hour at about MOO-1200 C. is generally adequate. Though no advantage arises from prolonging the firing time to two or three hours, neither is there any drawback from such prolongation.

I without material change in the ,viscosity, as by dissolving highly nitrated nitrocellulose in poor solvents. Alternatively, a solution of carbonaceous binder that is too thick or viscous may be diluted with a liquid not a solvent for the binder but miscible with the actual solvent used: e. g., for nitrocellulose, butyl acetate or amyl acetate may be used as solvent and toluene as diluent. In either case, the liquid suspension of phosphor and the binder itself preferably contain the minimum of binder solids consistent with efiective coatin viscosity of the suspension, and the maximum of solvent and suspension liquid (i. e., actual solvent plus any diluent used) consistent with such viscosity. The following specific example of proportions and procedure may prove helpful to those desiring to use my invention:

Dissolve per cent of nitrocellulose of grade ranging from 4000 sec. to 6000 sec. in 99 /2 per cent of butyl acetatethese proportions being by weight. Using this as binder, mix phosphor and additional solvent therewith in the following proportions:

Binder cc 50 Butyl acetate cc 35 Phosphor ..grams 50 These ingredients should be milled together in' a ball-mill for about /2 hour. The resulting suspension may be applied to the inside of the lamp bulbs or tubes in the usual manner, and allowed to dry.

. internal atmosphere has a temperature of about 550 (3., thereby baking out all components of the binder except a very small, innocuous residue of carbon from the binder solidsa carbonized residue so small in amount that it does not discolor the phosphor, and is even invisible and undiscoverable by ordinary microscopic examination of the coated surface, though it nevertheless appears to improve the adhesion of the phosphor to the bulb Wall. In other words, any volatile liquid components of the binder that may remain in the apparently dried coating are expelled as vapor, and the solids are decomposed and carbonized, and thus also largely driven off; but the residual carbon is not burnt out, but allowed to remain, and is effective to hold or fix the phosphor on the light-transmitting envelope wall-though itself, as I have said, invisible, and not affecting the apparent color of the phosphor when unexcited. The baking should preferably be done in a type of oven yielding large amounts of radiant heat, such as a well-insulated box with nichrome heating coils mounted on its interior wall surfaces, and should be limited in duration to a short time of the order of a minute or so. Such a short or momentary period of heating does not, of course, brin the coated envelope or tube up to the oven temperature of 550 6., nor does it materially affect or deteriorate the phosphor; yet it suffices to decompose the small amount of carbonaceous solids in the binder to the extent necessary to avoid noticeable coloration of the phosphor by the carbonized residue The foregoing illustrative method for producing phosphors is not given as a feature or a limitation of my invention-being, indeed, the subject of application Serial N0. 409,269 of Willard A. Roberts, filed September 2, 1941, concurrently herewith, and assigned to the assignee of this application, now U. S. Patent No. 2,306,567, granted December 29, 1942.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An electric lamp envelope having thereon an adherent coating of substantially undeteriorated phosphor containing substantially the entire but invisible carbon residue of a baked and carbonized but unburned carbonaceous ,binder, whereby th phosphor is fixed on said envelope, said phosphor coating having the same apparent color, when unexcited, as the phosphor itself in the absence of the binder residue.

2. An electric lamp envelopehaving thereon an and undeteriorated.

adherent coating of substantially undeteriorated phosphor containing substantially the entire but invisible carbon residue of a baked and carbonized but unburned carbonaceous binder, whereby the phosphor is fixed on said envelope, said phosphor coating having the same apparent color, when unexcited, as the phosphor itself in the absence of thebinder residue, and the phosphor consisting essentially of alkaline-'earth-metal phosphate activated with cerium present in divalent cerous condition, and being characterized by predominant fluorescence in the long wave ultraviolet radiation.

3. A method of producing on an electric lamp envelope, by means of a carbonaceous binder, an-

undiscolored adherent coating of substantially undeteriorated phosphor, which method comprises suspending the phosphor in carbonaceous coating binder compounded with substantially the minimum of carbonaceous binder solids and the maximum of solvent and suspension liquid that are consistent with effective coating viscosity of the suspension; and after coating the envelope with the suspension and drying th coating, baking the coated envelope only momentarily, with atmospheric exposure, at a heat and for a time whichare both insufiicient to burn away residual carbon, and which leave the phosphor undiscolcred because of the minimal amount of binder solids in the suspension, and undeteriorated because of the low heat and the brevity of the bakmg.

4. A method of producing on an electric lamp envelope an undiscoloredadherent coating of substantially undeteriorated phosphor, which comprises suspending the phosphor in carbonaceous coating binder containing approximately 1% of 4000 to 6000 second nitrocellulose, and after coating the envelope with the suspension and drying the coating, baking the coated envelope at a temperature of the order of 500 C. with atmospheric exposure for a period of the order of a minute, whereby the phosplior coating is left with the carbon residue of the binder but substantially undiscolored and undeteriorated 5. A method of producing on an electric lamp envelope, by means of a carbonaceous binder, an undiscolored adherent coating of substantially undeteriorated phosphor consisting essentially of alkaIine-earth-metal phosphate activated with cerium present, in divalent cerous condition; which method comprises suspending the phosphor is carbonaceous coating binder containing approximately 1% of. 4000 to 6000 second nitro'-' cellulose; and after coating the envelope with the suspension and drying the coating, baking the coated envelope by radiant heat at a temperature of the order of 500 C. with atmospheric exposure for a period of substantially a minute, whereby the phosphor coating is left with the carbon residue of the binder but substantially undiscolored EUGENE LEMIWERS.

CERTIFICATE OF CQRRECTION. Patent No. 2,566,270- January 9 w EUGENE IENMERS It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3, sec- 0nd column, line 15, claim 2, before "radiation" insert --when excited by short wave ultraviolet-; and that the said Letters Patent shou' i be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the ecord of I the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 15th day of May, A. D. 19u5.

. Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

